Fend off Psoriasis and Eczema with Simple, Inexpensive Remedies

With a few simple and inexpensive tips, you can get these aggravating skin conditions under control.

My One Hour Vitamin D Video

Vitamin D Dose Recommendations

Age

Dosage

Below 5

35 units per pound per day

Age 5 - 10

2500 units

Age 18 - 30

5000 units

Pregnant Women

5000 units

WARNING:
There is no way to know if the above recommendations are correct. The ONLY way to know is to test your blood. You might need 4-5 times the amount recommended above. Ideally your blood level of 25 OH D should be 60ng/ml.

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

Eczema (atopic dermatitis), and the closely associated psoriasis, are two very common skin problems.

Both eczema and psoriasis are potentially allergic conditions that can be triggered by environmental factors and dozens of other external irritants like:

Laundry detergent

Soaps

Household chemicals

Workplace chemicals

Perfumes

Animal dander

Metals (such as nickel in jewelry)

While psoriasis is most often linked with external allergic triggers, eczema is often caused by food allergies.

However, although they’re different diseases and have varying triggers, their treatments have many commonalities. .

How to Effectively and Inexpensively Treat Eczema and Psoriasis

Eczema is “the itch that rashes,” meaning, there’s really no rash until you start scratching the itchy area. Hence, the first thing you need to do is to stop scratching!

Addressing the itch -- As anyone with eczema will attest, this is easier said than done. But fortunately, there IS a really simple, inexpensive way to relieve the itch: Simply put a saltwater compress over the itchy area.

You’ll want to use a high quality natural salt, such as Himalayan salt. Simply make a solution with warm water, soak a compress, and apply the compress over the affected area. You’ll be amazed to find that the itching will virtually disappear!

Another method that can be helpful for reducing or stopping the itch is EFT.

Proper skin hydration – When working with any type of skin condition, you need to make sure your skin is optimally hydrated. Skin creams are rarely the answer here, but rather you’ll want to hydrate your skin from the inside out by consuming high quality, animal-based omega-3 fats in your diet.

Your best sources for omega-3s are animal-based fats like krill oil or fish oil. I also find it helpful to include a bit of gamma linoleic acid, typically in the form of primrose oil, as this works remarkably well for eczema. Products like “krill for women” are good for both sexes for this condition as they have both fatty acids.

Secondly, you’ll want to reduce your exposure to harsh soaps and drying out your skin with excessive bathing. Use a very mild soap when you cleanse your skin, especially in the winter to avoid stripping your skin of moisture.

Taking care of your gut = Taking care of your skin – Many don’t realize this, but the health and quality of your skin is strongly linked to the health of your gut. I recommend taking a high quality probiotic to ensure optimal digestive health. Fermented foods can be used as well, but are neither as common nor as easy to use.

Diet and skin quality – Food allergies play an enormous role in eczema. In my experience, the most common offending agent is wheat, or more specifically, gluten. Avoiding wheat and other gluten-containing grains is therefore a wise first step.

If you were to visit my clinic outside of Chicago as a new patient, one of the first steps we would advise would be to go on a gluten-free diet for a number of weeks and carefully observe any health improvements. This is an enormously common problem and many of our patients are surprised to find how much improvement they actually achieve from this step.

Avoiding grains will also reduce the amount of sugar in your system, which will normalize your insulin levels and reduce any and all inflammatory conditions you may have, including inflammation in your skin.

Other common allergens include milk and eggs. I recommend you do an elimination trial with these foods as well. You should see some improvement in about a week, sometimes less, after eliminating them from your diet if either of them is causing you trouble.

Basking in the sun – Vitamin D in the form of sun exposure is your best friend when dealing with either of these skin conditions, but it’s especially helpful for psoriasis.

I produced a one-hour lecture that explains the health benefits of this long under-appreciated vitamin, so if you haven’t seen it already, I strongly recommend you take the time to watch this free video now.

Ideally, you’ll want to get your vitamin D from appropriate sunshine exposure because UVB radiation on your skin will not only metabolize vitamin D, but will also help restore ideal skin function. High amounts of UVB exposure directly on affected skin – but not so much to cause sunburn! – will greatly improve the quality of your skin.

However, if you can’t get sufficient amounts of sun during the winter months, a high quality safe tanning bed can suffice. A safe tanning bed will provide the optimized forms of UVA and UVB wavelengths, without dangerous magnetic skin balance.

Why Conventional Treatments Fail

You don’t have to use expensive, dangerous medicines to treat eczema or psoriasis!

Steroid creams especially, are clearly something you’ll want to avoid, because although they work initially, you will tend to rapidly develop tolerance to them. These creams contain synthetic steroids, which are absorbed into your skin, and can wreak serious havoc with your adrenal system.

So please, avoid steroid creams and other potentially dangerous medications for these skin conditions and use these natural methods instead. You’ll find they work almost all the time, especially if you diligently apply them.

Disclaimer: The entire contents of this website are based upon the opinions of Dr. Mercola, unless otherwise noted. Individual articles are based upon the opinions of the respective author, who retains copyright as marked. The information on this website is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice. It is intended as a sharing of knowledge and information from the research and experience of Dr. Mercola and his community. Dr. Mercola encourages you to make your own health care decisions based upon your research and in partnership with a qualified health care professional. If you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or have a medical condition, consult your health care professional before using products based on this content.

If you want to use an article on your site please click here. This content may be copied in full, with copyright, contact, creation and information intact, without specific permission, when used only in a not-for-profit format. If any other use is desired, permission in writing from Dr. Mercola is required.

Disclaimer: The entire contents of this website are based upon the opinions of Dr. Mercola, unless otherwise noted. Individual articles are based upon the opinions of the respective author, who retains copyright as marked. The information on this website is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice. It is intended as a sharing of knowledge and information from the research and experience of Dr. Mercola and his community. Dr. Mercola encourages you to make your own health care decisions based upon your research and in partnership with a qualified health care professional. If you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or have a medical condition, consult your health care professional before using products based on this content.

If you want to use an article on your site please click here. This content may be copied in full, with copyright, contact, creation and information intact, without specific permission, when used only in a not-for-profit format. If any other use is desired, permission in writing from Dr. Mercola is required.